Staff Picks: Erin Geideman's CAM Favorites

Every visitor has a favorite Cincinnati Art Museum artwork. The same is true of museum staff. From in-depth analyses to playful interpretations, this series highlights the diverse personalities that make up the museum’s staff.

This month, Erin Geideman, Project Manager, Design &  Marketing, has picked her five favorite pieces.

American painter Andrew Wyeth had a knack for painting psychological portraits. In Henry Teel, which resides in Gallery 211, a lone man is depicted sitting by a window. Light spills into the room showing the man’s minimal belongings: a table, one chair and a shelf with a couple of plates. Curtains appear to be in motion, allowing the viewer to imagine a gentle breeze touching the man’s face as he gazes out the window into the unknown. A door on the opposing side of the painting is slightly ajar, making the audience wonder, is this man waiting for someone?

The appeal of this painting for me lies in the narrative quality of Wyeth’s work. He depicts an environment that raises more questions than answers, leaving the audience to ponder the inner lives of the people he paints. Although this work could be easily read as depressing, I imagine Teel as a man content with his own solitude, gazing out upon the island he proudly inhabits.

The emotional portrait of The Duchess of Montesquiou-Ferzensac has long captivated my attention when exploring CAM’s European galleries. The elongated figure’s downward turned eyes and angular face show distress. Her spindly fingers touch her chest. Smudged with reddish orange paint, the impression of blood is apparent. The dark, non-descript background pushes the Duchess forward and makes the audience think about the emotional and physical state of the subject. Still, in an effort to display her status, the woman appears well dressed, sporting a necklace, bracelets and rings.

The Duchess was afflicted with tuberculosis, an illness historically referred to as “consumption” because the disease consumed its victims, causing them to cough blood, lose weight and waste away until death. Confined to a sanatorium in Switzerland, Kokoschka painted this portrait to show the dignified beauty of the Duchess despite her illness. Although she appears in physical anguish, she remains refined and noble in her appearance. Kokoschka’s ability to distill the emotional state of his subject into this minimal composition has always attracted me to this work.

My appreciation of American Folk Art has grown since CAM hosted the exhibition, Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America, in 2017. Nan Phelps’ portrait resides in the bright orange Gallery 219. Filled with personality, the painting depicts Phelps’ mother working on an original quilt. A portrait of her deceased husband, Reverend John Hinkle, sits in a frame on the side table accompanying a book that vaguely resembles a bible. With the sitter dressed in all black, one can imagine she is mourning the loss of her husband.

Folk artists were often self-taught, which is apparent in the intricacies of the painting. The forms are flattened and lack detail. The table appears to be missing a leg. However, folk artists excelled at distilling expression in their subjects. Lula May Hinkle is depicted with a raised eyebrow and sly smile, showing playful and whimsical characteristics often found in folk art. This painting reminds me of my own grandmother, who like Lula May, was from south eastern Kentucky.